It was the 28th consecutive month of expansion, according to ISM. But the reading was the highest since June as growth was starting to flag -- four of the five prior readings were less than a point above the expansion-contraction line.

U.S. manufacturers managed to "shrug off the apparent sharp slowdown in growth in Asia and what looks like a renewed recession in Europe," wrote Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, in a market report.

The improvement was highlighted by a 4.3 point rise in the new orders component to 56.7. It was the second consecutive month of growth in new orders, after three months of decline.

Industrial production jumped 6.5 points to 56.6. Exports rose 2 points, pushing them into the growth zone of 52%.

The U.S. manufacturing trend contrasts with the one in the world's fastest-growing major economy: China. A report released Thursday showed Chinese manufacturing contracted in November, coming in at the lowest level since 2009.